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Niners defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said today outside linebacker Ahmad Brooks has grown a bit since he grew in stature last year.

Fangio was asked if Brooks was ready to reprise his 2013 season when he earned the first Pro Bowl berth of his eight-year career and was named a second-team All-Pro.

“I hope so,” Brooks said. “He’s gotten a few extra pounds on him now that I think is holding him back. We’ve been trying hard to get that off of him and hopefully he’ll be back to the guy that we saw, really that we’ve seen for three years.”

Less than three hours later, Brooks was evidently working to drop that weight: Brooks was on a side field with a trainer as his teammates finished warm-up drills about 15 minutes into practice.

Brooks, whose weight has fluctuated during his career, said before practice that he needed to lose between five and 10 pounds. The 6-foot-3 Brooks is listed at 259 pounds.

“It’s all about eating right,” Brooks said. “I’m 30 years old now, so my metabolism has slowed down. So it takes a little bit longer (to lose weight) than before.

“… Some of the things I used to get away with. I can’t get away with any more. Yeah, I do have to lose some weight. Is it affecting me? I don’t know. But, yeah, maybe a little bit.”

Brooks acknowledged he was unlikely to lose all the weight before the regular-season opener at Dallas on Sept. 7: “It takes time. You just can’t do all that in a week, or two weeks.”

Last year, Brooks had a career-high 8 ½ sacks and added 4 ½ sacks in the postseason. He ranks third in franchise history in sacks by a linebacker (33) and is tied for second in playoff sacks (6 ½).

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Safety Bubba Ventrone (hamstring) did not participate in practice. … Safety Antoine Bethea has evidently been cleared after sustaining a concussion Aug. 17. Bethea was no longer wearing a blue no-contact jersey.